While bow hunters use a variety of bows, including long bows and recurve bows, the majority of hunters presently use compound bows. While this invention is usable with any bow capable of being adapted to hold a stabilizer, the invention is more easily adapted to compound bows. A stabilizer is an elongated attachment, most commonly used on compound bows, which projects from the front of a bow for counterbalancing purposes. It is generally fairly massive, having an elongated cylindrical form; and it normally screws into a fitting on the front of the bow so that the longitudinal axis of the stabilizer is parallel to the shaft of an arrow appropriately positioned for release by the archer. The stabilizer tends to counterbalance and steady the bow during aiming and when the arrow is released.
In hunting seasons, bow hunters must often wait for game during long periods under cold, and sometimes wet, conditions. During such waiting, the bow's hand grip and the hunter's bow hand can become quite cold and stiff, often making it difficult to handle the bow with desired speed and accuracy.
Heated handles have long been provided for other sporting equipment such as fishing rods, ski poles, motorcycles, and snow mobiles. While archers have been provided with heated gloves see U.S. Pat. No. 2,555,203 to Ramsey!, and while bows have been provided with various types of accessories for more than 30 years, e.g., lamps see U.S. Pat. No. 3,288,988 to Boggs! and, more recently, spot lights designed to replace stabilizers see U.S. Pat. No. 4,640,258 to Penny et al. and U.S. Pat. No. 5,297,533 to Cook!, archery bows have never been provided with heated hand grips.